Special Edition NYC 2014 Convention Report
I went to the first New York Special Edition Con. Run by Reed Pop, who do the huge New York Comic Con in October which is basically the east coast San Diego Comic Con. You know MEDIA GUESTS! ANIMIE! VIDEO GAMES! MOVIE NEWS! CON EXCLUSIVES! and some comic stuff. Well, Reed Pop decided to take a page out of the Baltimore Comic Con’s play book and have a con with *gasp* just comic retailers, comic creators, and some publishers. For what it’s worth, here is my take on it.
I purchased my ticket months ago when it was announced for $35. It was for Saturday only. Which I didn’t even blink at because The NYCC Saturday pass is $50 and the Wizard World Saturday pass is $55. So all in all, I think it’s not a bad price. My only knock is that a Sunday pass is also $35 and I think it would be better for them if each one day pass was $35 and they had a two day pass option which would give you a discount like other cons for say maybe $50.
With ticket in hand and then hanging from my neck on the lanyard they provided, I made my way to the waiting line. It wasn’t a huge waiting line, it was about what I expected and people were happily chatting waiting to be let in to the show floor. As 10 o’clock drew closer, the crowd started a countdown and the staff started letting people in right on time. They handled the crowd quite well and I had no problems.
As I walked down the hall to the show floor, I heard the theme to Tim Burton’s Batman blasting. As I got closer, I saw there was a D.J. As the day went on, he played a ton of cool movie stuff, Jurassic Park, Star Wars, etc. I have to admit it was a nice touch.
The entire show was where the Artist Alley is at during NYCC. It is a nice size and was just about half retailers and half creators. There was a decent amount of merchandise to buy as well. Comics, toys, glasses, and original art. The one thing that surprised me was lack of comic t-shirts and apparel. They are usually a mainstay of cons. The only two companies that had a dedicated Con presence were Marvel and Valiant. I guess DC hate a date that weekend. They both had various freebies and I know for a fact Marvel had various creator signings throughout the day.
The line-up was pretty good for a first show on a day where there were two other cons going on nearby at the same time. There were a few legends, established creators, up and comers, and self publishers. Mike Allred was the biggest draw. He constantly had a line.
There looked to be some fun panels but, to be honest, I’m not a panel guy so I chose to be a bad reporter and not check any out.
It never got too crowded or looked like a ghost town either. People seemed to be having a good time and I didn’t hear anyone complain or see any problems. There were some cosplayers but not as many as I thought there would be. Also, I saw lots of kids which gives me hope for the future of my favorite hobby.
If I had to rate Special Edition NYC on a scale of 1 to 10 I would give it a 7.5. It was a great show for a maiden voyage. All it needs to do is get bigger. More guests, more retailers, more panels. I know getting bigger means more headaches but I think they can handle it. We need a huge strictly comic book convention in New York. Come on Reed Pop, I’m counting on you.
Todd
